Sutton & Cheam were the only team to win their three matches during the first weekend of Championship 2 action at Matlock. After defeating Southampton 15-13 and Hucknall 19-16, they were involved in another close game before beating Birmingham 14-11.

Sixteen-year-old Jack Wilcynski-Wilkins starred for Manchester Hawks, scoring five times in a 13-5 win over Exeter, who conceded six in the last period.

Earlier, goals in the final period by Darren Heagarty (3) and Kameron Powell (2) clinched Exeter's 15-12 victory over Penguin. The Devon side had trailed 11-10 at the end of the third period.

Castleford almost slipped up in men's Championship 3 at Liverpool, conceding goals in the last period after building a 10-6 lead against University of Bristol but finally holding out for a 12-ll victory.

They were the only team to survive a weekend of very close encounters with a 100 per cent record from three matches.

Six-goal Chris Burns led York City to a 13-12 win against Ealing while Cheltenham Spartans had to rely on a last-ditch goal from Liviu Totolici - his fourth of the game - to grab a 12-12 draw with City of Cambridge.

Ealing beat London rivals Otter 9-8 in men's Championship 3 after the final minute produced three goals at Liverpool.

Will Middleton put Ealing ahead at 8-7 only for Mate Nyaka to equalise. There were just 13 seconds remaining when ex-Sheffield player Tom Kelly claimed the winner.

Cambridge chalked up their second win, beating York City 8-6 thanks to goals in the last three minutes by Riccardo di Pietro and Nick Ludford.

In Championship 2 at Matlock, Exeter beat Watford 13-11 with late goals by Kameron Powell (2) and Andy Barry while a dominant third period, which they won 6-1, earned Sutton & Cheam a second victory - 19-16 against Hucknall.

There was no shortage of late drama as men's Championship 2 got under way at Matlock today. In the first match, Birmingham came from 10-8 down to level at 10-10 only for James Warman to snatch a Watford winner two minutes from the end.

James Hadlow's  fourth goal earned Hucknall a point in a 10-10 draw with Manchester Hawks, for whom James Salt netted seven. Birmingham struggled in the latter stages of their second game of the day, Penguin scoring eight in the final period to win 17-11.

In Liverpool, Lee Cadwallader's six goals set up Bridgefield's 15-9 Championship 3 win against York City while Paulo Andrade was on target eight times in Cambridge's 14-6 defeat of University of Bristol.

Lancaster needed a Tom Curwen goal 27 seconds from the end at Cardiff to salvage an 11-11 draw with Invicta, who have proved impressive Super 5s qualifiers in the first phase of the season. 

After three periods, Lancaster led 9-8, an advantage instantly overturned as Callum Bailey converted a penalty and Jack Waller added another goal. Curwen made it 10-10 before Invicta edged ahead again through Bailey. It needed a man-up opportunity for Curwen to rescue a point for Lancaster with his fourth goal of a thriller.

Title-chasing Manchester beat Sheffield 12-8 to complete their Division 1 programme with a perfect record from seven games.

Caledonia looked set for a first win when they began the last period against Bristol with a 9-6 lead. But Bristol were having none of it, flooring the Scots with seven goals to win 13-11.

Bristol Central claimed the final men's Super 5s place today - without even entering the water.

They started level on points with Team Northumbria, who needed at least a draw from their early match against Cheltenham to have any hope of qualifying. Their chances were effectively blown away in the first quarter as goals by Jake Vincent (3), Joel Thomas (2), James Ross and Rob Parker built a 7-1 lead for the 2014/15 champions, who went on to win 17-11.

Caledonia took a 3-1 lead at the start of their match against Lancaster but eventually went down 18-11.

Invicta qualified for the men's Super 5s with a second victory of the weekend at Cardiff International Pool - 12-10 against Team Northumbria. They join undefeated City of Manchester, Cheltenham and Lancaster in the premier competition.

The final place will go to either Bristol Central or Team Northumbria, who have their final Division 1 matches tomorrow (Sunday).

Invicta went behind on three occasions against Northumbria but, from 9-9 at the start of the final quarter, they surged ahead with vital goals by Ben Carter, Jack Waller and Conrad Rhodes.

Manchester again left it very late to complete an 8-7 win against Bristol. They were not ahead for the first time until Guile Shafie made it 7-6 with the last minute buzzer about to sound. Ashley Castle then equalised but, with 33 seconds remaining, Eleftherios Chelioudalis struck the winner for Manchester.

City of Manchester maintained their 100 per cent record in men's Division 1 at Cardiff today with a remarkable, last-ditch victory over Lancaster.

Lancaster had controlled much of the game, leading 5-2 in the third period. When Manchester threatened, they were invariably thwarted by some excellent saves from Marc Robinson (pictured).

Champions Cheltenham guaranteed a Super 5s place with an 11-9 victory over Bristol Central at Cardiff International Pool today.

The game was decided in the third quarter, when goals by Adam Legge (2), Rob Parker and Rudi Polster took Cheltenham from 6-5 to 10-6. A Bristol rally in the last period came too late to rescue a point. Balint Kocsis scored three of the Bristol goals.

The 2016 annual meeting of the British League is to take place in Birmingham on 17 April. The original provisional date of 24 April has been changed at the request of the ASA to avoid clashing with a national age group competition.

Please also note that there will be table officials' courses attached to two BWPL weekends - at Guildford on 5/6 December and Leeds, 9/10 January. Details from BWPL Officials' Co-ordinator Mike Jukes, mike.jukes@bwpl.org.

And finally . . . clubs intending to apply for playing membership of the League next season should note that the closing date for applications is 31 December.